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ستون هنج |
Basel rejects Zaha
Hadid casino |
17-8-2006 |
The
citizens of Basel, Switzerland, have voted
by a clear majority against architect Zaha
Hadid’s proposed Neues Stadt-Casino,
meaning the auditorium will now not be
built
Hadid won an invited competition four
years ago to design the building, which
would have been the city’s new concert
hall. But Swiss tradition states that the
public get the final say on any large
project that involves public spending.
Basler Zeitung reports that 62.6% of
voters rejected the proposal.
Basel also voted against retaining the
city’s remaining trolleybuses in a
separate plebiscite. They will now be
replaced by gas-powered buses.
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cnn |
China
bridge 'made of rocks' |
16-8-2007 |
BEIJING, China (Reuters) --
A Chinese bridge that collapsed killing at
least 41 people was made of just rocks
wrapped in concrete instead of steel so
that it would be in "harmony with the
environment," state media said, quoting an
official.
Villagers look on as rescuers search for
victims on site in Fenghuang, Hunan
province, Tuesday.
1 of 2 The death toll from Monday's
collapse of the almost-completed Fenghuang
highway bridge in the southern province of
Hunan was expected to rise further. Dozens
of construction workers were feared
trapped beneath a huge pile of debris on
the Tuo river.
"While the cause of the collapse is still
unknown, a local official at the scene
claimed that a 'traditional and risky'
model of bridge, made of stone and
concrete, had been chosen over a steel
structure to ensure it remained 'in
harmony with the natural environment',"
the China Daily said.
Investigation teams and experts have
pointed a finger of blame at design flaws
and quality defects in the 42-meter-high
bridge's structure and materials.
"The ruptured parts of the bridge show
broken stones, also it was a clean break.
It's obvious the quality was too poor,"
the Beijing News quoted an architecture
expert at Beijing's Tsinghua University as
saying.
Over 1,500 rescue workers were picking
through the debris to find the missing,
Xinhua news agency reported, adding that
President Hu Jintao had ordered a thorough
investigation.
Police had detained a construction manager
and a project supervisor, Xinhua said on
Tuesday, a day after the bridge broke
apart like a pat of "bean curd," state
media said, quoting a rescuer.
One of the contractors building the bridge
also worked on a bridge that fell apart
two months ago, local media reported on
Thursday.
On June 15, a section of the 1,600-meter
Jiujiang bridge, connecting Foshan and
Heshan in neighboring Guangdong province,
collapsed after a barge laden with sand
crashed into it, causing several cars and
pedestrians to fall into the river below.
Investigators detained the captain and
five other suspects. The bridge was deemed
structurally sound |